Window sash holder



Nov. 30, 1954 M. G. TEGTMANN 2,695,802

WINDOW SASH HOLDER Filed July 14. 1950 j 21 f 1 1' f i /Z0 K2 5 f v 15 I.

[171 517 far United States Patent ()fllice 2,695,802 Patented Nov. 30, 1954 WINDOW SASH HOLDER Milburn G. Tegtinann, Hampshire, Ill., assignor of onehalf to Jasper R. Ladd, Crystal Lake, Ill.

Application July 14, 1950, Serial No. 173,706 7 Claims. (Cl. 292-17) This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of holding mechanisms for window sashes, that is, mechanisms which, when used in pairs with one associated with each side of the window sash, are adapted to hold window sashes in any of a plurality of raised or lowered positions without aid from any other mechanisms such as sash counterweights or spring operated sash balances.

Heretofore many devices have been used for holding window sashes temporarily raised or lowered from their normally closed positions. Perhaps the most familiar of these employs a counterweight which is adapted to move vertically in a chamber provided therefor in the window frame, the counterweight being connected to the sash by a sashcord, passing over a pulley supported on the window frame at the upper end of said chamber, the sashcord being secured to the window sash within a vertical groove which is provided therefor at edges of the window sash.

The sashcord and counterweight balance assembly has served the building industry well for decades, but requires a rather expensive window frame and space to provide four chambers for the four counterweights associated with each pair of sashes.

My invention eliminates the four counterweights, sashcords and pulleys and the need for a specially constructed window frame having chambers to receive the counterweights.

Furthermore, through the use of my invention not only is a less expensive window frame required, but the problem of installing the sash in the window frame is greatly simplified My invention makes use of the vertical groove which has heretofore been provided in wooden window sashes for the reception of the sashcord and involves the mounting within such a groove of a resilient shoe which cooperates with a U-shaped channel member mounted on the window frame and which extends into the window sash groove for cooperation with that shoe.

A general object of my invention is to provide an improved holding mechanism for window sashes which will effectively hold a window sash in any position out of its normal closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved window sash holder of inexpensive construction and which may be installed with a minimum expenditure of labor and time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a window sash holder which can be readily installed in windows already designed for use with sashcords and balances, or counterweights.

Other advantages and objects of the invention will be specifically mentioned hereinafter or will become apparent from a perusal of this specification in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described for illustrating the nature of the invention and the manner of using it.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the channel member which is mounted on the window frame.

Fig. 2 is a disassembled view of the window frame, the channel and the window sash shoe.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showing a window sash assembled against the window frame to bring the shoe and channel into cooperative relationship.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the shoe itself.

Turning now to the drawing, Figs. 2 and 4 show a lower wooden window sash of ordinary construction to be mounted for sliding movement between the side frame members of a wooden window frame. It is sufiicient to show here only one side frame member 6 having the customary groove 7 to receive the usual parting strip 8 and an inside sash guide 9. The sash has vertical members 10 and 11 provided with customary sashcord grooves 12 and 13.

Whereas the side members of a window frame designed to receive the aforementioned window sash balances provide chambers in which the counterweights move, the side frame member employed in connection with my invention may be no more than a flat board 6 grooved to receive the parting strip and having a face 14 on which is mounted the metal channel member 15, which includes a base portion 16, which is secured to the window frame member 6 by means of a plurality of screws 17 which fit into screw holes such as 18, 19, 2t) and 21. The two legs 22 and 23 of the channel member are intended to extend into the sashcord groove in the window sash when the window is completely assembled, illustrated in Fig. 4.

It will be noted the legs 22 and 23 do not contact the side Walls of the groove in the window sash. By avoiding this contact, 1 thereby avoid any wearing action between thehchannel member and the groove in the wooden window sas Seated in the bottom of the window sash groove is the shoe which is generally indicated as 24, this shoe being secured in the groove preferably by a plurality of screws passing through screw holes such as 25 and 26. I find that by preforming the shoe as indicated in the drawing its bottom rounded wall 27 will seat firmly upon either a flat bottomed groove 12 (Fig. 3) or on a curved bottom window sash groove such as is frequently found in wooden sashes. Side walls 28 and 29 of the shoe diverge from each other as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5 before assembly but when the window sash and window frame are assembled into operative relation as illustrated in Fig. 4, the side walls of the shoe will be substantially parallel and will resiliently grip the side walls of the channel member with a frictional grip sufficiently strong to hold the window sash in any position vertically removed from its normally closed position. To facilitate the entrance of the shoe into the Window frame channel member during installation i prefer to form the edge portions 3%) and 31 of the shoe as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5.

The channel 15 may be made of stiff brass, steel, aluminum or other stiff metal. The shoe preferably is made of Phosphor bronze spring stock and need be only 2" in length.

While I have shown only one shoe mounted on one side of the Window sash, 1 of course may mount two or more shoes at each side of the window sash within the groove. While the frictional cooperation of the shoe and the channel member adequately hold the window in any position out of its normally closed position, nevertheless the frictional contact is not such as to make the window difiicult to raise or lower, since the metal to metal sliding contact action responds to a reasonably small force.

To assemble my invention into a window frame and sash the following procedure is recommended.

First the shoes 24 will be secured by means of screws in the opposite vertical grooves in the opposite margins of the window sash, as indicated in Fig. 2. The window sash shown in Pig. is to be considered as a bottor fr sash.

The next step is to take a pair of channel members 15, one for each side margin of the window, and insert them into the grooves 12 and 13 provided in the window sash, while the sash is still out of the frame. This will cause the side walls of the channels to embrace the shoes snugly as indicated in Fig. 4.

The next step, in the case of the lower window sash, is to move this assembled structure into the window frame in the desired ultimate location of the Window sash in its fully lowered position. The length of the channels 15 are such that at this time the top screw hole 21 in each of them will be exposed slightly above the top edge of the sash. It is therefore convenient to drive the screw through the holes 21 in each channel member, thus to permanently locate the top end of the channel member.

Thereafter the window sash will be raised a short distance to expose the screw hole 18 which is to be found near the lower end of the channel member. At this time screws will then be inserted through the holes 18 in the two channel members and the channels are thereby permanently vertically aligned.

Further raising of the window sash will successively expose screw holes 19 and 20, as well as any other intermediate screw holes which one may desire to provide, and screws may then be inserted into window frame to additionally secure the channel members to the frame.

The lower window sash is, after the foregoing operations, permanently installed as provided with this sash holding device. It will be perceived that this installing method is extremely simple and can be accomplished in a'very few minutes.

The manner of installing the upper window sash, which ordinarily would be installed before mounting the lower sash, can readily be understood merely by turning Fig. 2 upsidedown and consider the window sash to be the upper sash, noting that the screw holes corresponding to 21 in the inverted channel member would then extend downwardly somewhat below the bottom margin of the upper sash. This indicates that in that manner the first screws may be inserted through the channel members into the window frame while the upper sash is in its top closed position. By subsequently lowering the top sash a few inches the uppermost screw holes, corresponding to 18, would then be exposed and screws would be then inserted through the screw holes 18 to permanently locate the channels for the upper sash in their permanent vertical position. Further lowering of the upper sash would expose the intermediate screw holes and screws would then be inserted through them.

The proper order of installing the parting strip 8, the inside guide 9 and an outside guide (not shown) will be obvious to anyone at all familiar with Window assembly.

The channel-members 15 employed in my invention are preferably made of some non-corrodible metal and preferably will be rigid enough so that the spring shoes will not expand them against the side walls of the grooves in the window sashes.

'While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described herein itshould be understood that the invention is susceptible of some variation and modification and that such variation and modifications are intended to be covered by the claims.

Having shown and described my invention, I claim:

1. For combination with a window sash frame having a vertical planar sash slideway and with a window sash having a vertical marginal stile and a vertical groove therein facing said slideway, a sash holding mechanism comprising a U-shaped channel member to be secured with its base on said slideway and its channel legs so proportioned that when extended into said groove they terminate short of the innermost margin thereof, and a resilient metal shoe of generally U-shaped cross section to be secured with its base in said groove andits channel legs extended outwardly but terminating short of the outer margins of said groove, said shoe being proportioned relatively to the channel member and so biased as to resiliently and slidably engage said channel member legs for supporting the sash in a plurality of selected vertically adjusted positions.

2. For combination with a window sash frame having a vertical planar sash slideway and with a Window sash having a vertical marginal stile and a vertical groove therein facing said slideway, a sash holding mechanism comprising a U-shaped channel member to be secured with its base on said slideway and having channel legs so proportioned-that when'extended into said-groove they terminate short of the innermost margin thereof, and a resilient metal shoe having a'base portion to be secured in the bottom of said groove and having resilient portions extending outwardly from its base but terminating short of the outer margin of said groove, said resilient portions being proportioned and shaped and so normally biased as to resiliently andslidably engage said channel member legs for supporting the sash'in a plurality of vertically adjusted positions.

3. For combination with a window sash frame having a vertical planar sash slideway and with a window sash having a vertical marginal stile and a vertical groove therein facing said slideway, a sash holding mechanism comprising a U-shaped channel member to be secured with its base on said slideway and having channel legs so spaced and proportioned that when extended into said groove they are out of contact with the sides thereof and terminate short of the innermost margin thereof, and a resilient metal shoe of U-shaped cross section having a base portion to be secured in the bottom of said groove and having resilient channel leg portions extending outwardly therefrom but terminating short of the outer margin of said groove, said resilient leg portions being proportioned and shaped and so normally biased as to resiliently and slidably engage said channel member legs for supporting the sash in a plurality of vertically adjusted positions.

4. A sash holdingmechanism in accordance with claim 3 wherein said-channel member and said groove each have a length substantially equal to the length of said vertical marginal stile.

5. For combination with a window sash frame having a vertical planar sash slideway and with a window sash having a vertical marginal stile and a vertical groove therein facing said slideway, a sash holding mechanism comprising a U-shaped channel member to be secured with its base on said slideway and its'channel legs so spaced and proportioned that when extended into said groove they are out of contact'with the sides thereof and terminate short of the innermost margin thereof, and a resilient metal shoe of generally U-shaped cross section to be secured with its base in said' groove and its channel legs extending outwardly but terminating short of the outer margins of said groove, said shoe legs being spaced and proportioned relatively to the channel member and so biased as to resiliently and slidably engage the inner surface of said-channel member legs for supporting the sash in a plurality of selected vertically adjusted positions.

6. A sash holding mechanism in accordance with claim 5 wherein the vertical edges of the shoe channel legs are inwardly bent toward each other to facilitate their entrance between the channel member legs.

7. A sash holding mechanism in accordance with claim 5 wherein saidchannelmember and said groove each have a length substantially equal to the length of said vertical marginal stile.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 426,791 Foote Apr. 29, 1890 512,647 Dohnal Ian. 9, 1894 956,702 Gould May 3, 1910 

